The meeting between the POMIDA Executive Committee and Minister of the Interior Theodoros Livanos and Deputy Minister of the Interior Vasilis Spanakis, held on Friday, May 29, 2026, at the Ministry of the Interior, regarding POMIDA’s comments on the Local Government Code, as the federation notes in its announcement.
This resulted from the final text of the bill submitted the day before yesterday (June 10) for a vote in Parliament, which included the following changes to the drafts that had been made public in December 2025 and during the consultation process:
- The imposition of the “Regional Development Fee” was avoided, a new tax on property owners in favor of regional government, amounting to up to 0.35‰—equivalent to the municipal property tax rate—which would have further burdened energy bills.
- The rate of the “Local Development Fee” was ultimately capped at 0.70% from the 1% provided for in the initial draft of the Code, with the possibility of a justified increase only by municipalities which, upon application of the maximum TTA rate of 0.70‰ will have revenues of less than 95% of total revenues from the Local Development Tax (LDT) and the Real Estate Tax (RET) in the year 2025, and exclusively up to the rate required so that the estimated revenues from the Local Development Tax amount to the aforementioned percentage.
- The imposition of a de facto “rent cap” on private property leases to municipalities and regions across the country, which would have resulted in them being unable to find properties to house their services, since no private individual would have offered their property for lease at auction.
Equally important is the fact that the text of the new Local Government Code also satisfies a just and long-standing demand by POMIDA regarding properties without electricity, with very significant implications:
The requirement for owners to submit a sworn statement to municipal revenue offices for exemption from municipal sanitation and lighting fees is abolished, and a new reduced rate of 10% is established which will automatically apply to all properties when their electricity supply is disconnected.
Under the new regulation, eligibility for the reduced rate will be automatic, effective from the date of disconnection of the electricity supply, for which the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO) or the liable party shall promptly notify the relevant municipality, whose competent department shall effect the transition within one month of the notification.
This reduced rate of 10% will apply to sanitation and lighting fees for the following two categories of properties:
- Enclosed spaces that are in use but do not have an electrical installation
- Covered spaces with minimal electricity consumption for safety reasons (e.g., for the operation of alarms or electric shutters)
POMIDA’s view is that the following should be explicitly added to this category:
- Storage rooms - horizontal properties of apartment buildings, which, although they are auxiliary spaces with rudimentary electrical installations and minimal power consumption where no activity takes place, are nevertheless charged municipal fees as primary-use spaces (residences).
- Completed properties that have never been connected to the power grid, provided they are voluntarily declared by their owners to the relevant municipalities.